United States stocks rise to records as dollar strengthens

A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S. December 28, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Jeremy Herron, Bloomberg

U.S. stocks rose for a fifth straight day, with technology shares bolstering major indexes, as investors continue to price in the impact of tax cuts before corporate earnings start later in the week. The dollar strengthened after three straight weekly declines.

The S&P 500 Index shrugged off early sluggishness to push to a fresh record, giving it gains in every session so far this year. The Nasdaq indexes rose as semiconductors advanced. European equities added to the biggest weekly advance since April, and markets in Tokyo were closed for a holiday. Bloomberg’s dollar index climbed the most in three weeks. Oil held above $61 a barrel, and a measure of financial-market stress sank to its lowest level since 2014.

U.S. equities are in the longest winning streak since early November as investors continue to price in the benefits of cuts to corporate taxes passed late last year. Major wall street banks from JPMorgan Chased & Co. to Wells Fargo & Co. kick off earnings later this week, with the impact of the tax cuts in focus. With risk assets globally enjoying a strong start to 2018, outlooks from leading companies may dictate the next move for equity markets.

In Europe data showed confidence in the euro area continued its advance at the end of 2017, but Germany’s continued struggle to form a government restrained the euro. The pound fell and U.K. stocks were flat after weak economic data and reports that Prime Minister Theresa May is considering creating a position for a minister in charge of contingency planning for a no-deal Brexit.

South Korea’s won reversed gains as authorities said they would take action to stem one-sided moves in the currency. The comments came a day before the nation is to hold its first high-level talks with North Korea since 2015.

These are the main moves in markets:

--The S&P 500 Index rose 0.2 percent to a record 2,747.43 as of 4 p.m. in New York. It jumped 2.6 percent last week.

-- The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.3 percent to an all-time high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 14 points from its record to halt a four-day rally.